


run boy, run

by itisjosh



Series: change won't come if we don't begin [6]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Abuse, Best Friends, Betrayal, Blood and Violence, Bounty Hunters, Escape, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Happy Ending, Hatred, Hurt No Comfort, Hybrids, Major Character Injury, Misunderstandings, Politics, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Rage, Scars, Torture, i think :)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27113818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itisjosh/pseuds/itisjosh
Summary: Why did Wilbur leave him?Schlatt's had a lot of time to think about that one line, and he's still not sure. What he is sure of is what he's going to do when he finds him.
Relationships: Jschlatt & Wilbur Soot
Series: change won't come if we don't begin [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1939360
Comments: 91
Kudos: 372





	1. running is a luxury

_Schlatt feels the ground under him move as he dragged back, rocks catching his stomach. He screams and thrashes in agony, trying so hard to escape, but it's worthless. He hears an arrow whir, hears a body hit the ground directly after. No. They got Wilbur, they had to have. "No!" Schlatt screams, trying harder to fight. No, no, no! Wilbur wasn't supposed to die, he was supposed to get away. That's why Schlatt threw himself in front of that sword, that's why he's..that..no. Wilbur can't die, he can't. Schlatt hears music screaming in his ears, a high-pitched crying noise that just gets louder and louder and louder and l-_

* * *

Schlatt grits his teeth as he feels the whip come down on his back, biting back his cries. He's got it easy tonight - he knows that Quackity doesn't. He bites down on his lip, closing his eyes for a second. "Eight," the man calls out. "Two more, Ram." Ram. That's what they've been trying to rename him. Schlatt fucking knows that isn't his name, it's so goddamn obviously not his name. But they don't treat him like a person. They treat him like an animal, like he's just a..like he's not even a human. He isn't, that's why he's here. That's why he was nursed back to health and why Wilbur was left to die. Because he's not _human_. He's something called a hybrid, a human that's got animal features. No one knows how to happens, no one knows why - but it just happens. The whip cracks again, twice this time, and he heaves a sigh of relief. It isn't nearly as bad as it used to be. When he first got taken here, it was so much worse. 

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ram. Try to stop acting up, it only makes it harder for you."

"Yes, sir," Schlatt forces himself not to snarl it, forces himself to stay back. It only makes it worse if he talks back, he knows this. But _fuck_ , it's hard to not. He knows how to survive here, it's just..hard. He sighs, wishing he could lean back against his wall. They beat him, treat him like a fucking worthless piece of shit, but at least the cage is nice. For the most part, he's allowed to go out when they don't want to test on him or torture him. Schlatt can hear the screaming from his cage, sighing. Why the hell don't they learn to shut the fuck up? He stopped screaming months ago. He hears a thud next to his cage, turning to smile at Quackity. He looks exhausted, his face bloodied and bruised. "Hey, Big Q." 

"Morning, Schlatt," Quackity wheezes, dragging himself to the bars. Quackity isn't a hybrid. He's just a normal boy who got unlucky. His parents sent him here instead of having him killed. Schlatt isn't sure what he'd rather have. He'd rather have his best friend. "Forty today. What about you?"

Schlatt shrugs, wincing when he does. "Ten. Sorry that they hit you more instead of me," Quackity is relatively new here, still. It's been about a year and a half since Schlatt got here, he'd say. He stopped keeping track of the time a bit ago. But he's not like a lot of the others, who've lost their fucking minds. They've gone insane, and it..it's sad. Schlatt isn't going to do that. He's going to keep his head, and he's going to escape. He'll take Quackity with him when he does, too. Fuck, if he can, he'll free them all. "How's Fundy doing?"

"He's tired," Quackity admits. "They're being hard on him. I don't know how to make them stop."

"I'll make them stop," Schlatt tells him. Fundy's barely even eight, and they're already hurting him. At least Schlatt was ten when he started to get hit. He's almost twelve now, he thinks. Christ. "I'd rather it be me instead of him. He's not even a fuckin' threat, and they're.." he sighs, closing his eyes. "I'll make sure their attention is on me."

"I'll help," Quackity promises. "Seriously, Schlatt. You can't keep getting hurt for everyone else, it's going to kill you." Schlatt raises an eyebrow, cracking open one eye. 

"Quackity," he smiles, "do you think I care? Osprey did the same thing for me, he made sure I was okay," Osprey was one of the older experiments. He had forgotten his real name a long time ago, so he just went by what they called him. Osprey made sure he never got hurt as much as he should have. He died for it. He was executed in front of Schlatt and everyone else, a public warning on what happens. "I'm not gonna let some kid get hurt, man. I'm not going to." 

Quackity sighs. "You're always looking out for people, Schlatt. How the hell did you keep that trait when you got sent here?" 

"I'm just.." he sighs back. "I'm trying to hold on, man. I'm just trying to keep myself sane. And I..I think Wilbur would be proud. I think he's dead, Quackity. I think he is. But I hope to god he isn't." 

"Me too, man," Quackity shifts uncomfortably, turning to face the wall. "I guess I can try to sleep. When they let us out tomorrow, do you think you could help me bandage my back?"

"Yeah, of course," Schlatt promises. "Goodnight, Big Q."

"Goodnight, Schlatt."

Schlatt closes his eyes, letting himself lean back against his wall. God, it hurts so fucking bad. But at least he's got a plan. At least he's got someone else.

* * *

"Go!" Schlatt hears screaming, but it isn't the bad kind. It's not the normal kind, it's..he recognizes that voice. It.. _no_. No fucking way. "Come on, Techno! There are some over here!"

"Wilbur!" Schlatt shouts, rattling his cage, gripping the bars as tight as he can. Smoke starts to pool into his cage, and he clamps his shirt over his mouth. The bars are heating up, what the.. _fuck_. Fire. Schlatt stands up, shaking his cage as hard as he can. " _Wilbur!_ " He screams, desperately trying to spot his best friend. He knew it! He knew it, he fucking knew it! Wilbur wasn't dead, he's alive. He's alive, he's okay. Who the hell is Techno? Whatever, that's not important. What's important is Wilbur, and he's okay. God, how long has it been? Four years now? 

"Got one left!" Another voice shouts. "See anymore?"

"Nope!" Wilbur calls back, his voice..no. No, what the fuck? Schlatt feels his hands start to burn, his eyes start to water. Wilbur..there's no way he didn't hear him. There's no way. He..Schlatt stares past the smoke, locking eyes with someone who looks so, so familiar. He stares at Wilbur, watches Wilbur stare back at him. Oh. It's on purpose. This is...

"Then let's head out." And then Wilbur is gone. 

_Oh_. 

Schlatt stumbles back from the bars, back hitting his wall. Oh. Wilbur never meant to save him. Wilbur wasn't here for him. Wilbur made sure he died. 

Wilbur didn't come back for him.

Wilbur left him that day in the forest. 

"Schlatt!" Quackity shouts, appearing in front of his cage. "I'm gonna get you out of here, alright?" 

Wilbur didn't ever mean to come back for him.

"Schlatt?"

Why did Wilbur leave him?

"Schlatt? Schlatt!"

Rage burrows its way inside of his chest, fury clamping his throat shut. "Let's go." Schlatt snarls, stumbling out of his cage the moment Quackity unlocks it. He starts to walk past the flames, ignoring the way his body burns, ignoring the way the smoke makes his lungs feel. 

Wilbur is going to regret leaving him behind. 


	2. you heart is made of stone

Schlatt feels the world spin underneath of him, steadying himself once he's very clearly in the next world over. He stares ahead of him, carefully taking in the sight. He sees walls. They're fucking massive, why the hell does this place have _walls_? Schlatt starts to walk, carefully tucking his hands into his pockets-

"Schlatt!" He whirls around at the sound of the voice, fury blazing in his chest. Fucking finally. He's finally fucking found him, he- Schlatt stiffens when he feels arms around him, his head being pressed into Wilbur's shoulder. He..what the _fuck_. Who the _fuck_ does this man think he is? "Oh my god," Wilbur whispers. "I didn't think you were alive. When- when they killed you, oh my god. Oh my god, you're okay. You're okay. I'm so sorry, I tried so hard to look for you, I-"

"What the fuck are you saying?" Schlatt shoves him back, enraged. "You..how fucking _dare_ you," he snarls, flicking out his knife. "You fucking son of a bitch. I'm going to kill you, I'm gonna-"

"Schlatt..?" Wilbur looks at him, his joy melting into fear. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know what to do, I shouldn't have..I shouldn't have run. I'm sorry, I was only..I.." he swallows, throat bobbing. "I tried to find you. I went to every single place I could. They were doing experiments on hybrids, and I tried so hard to find you, but they..they always killed the people in those camps before I could see if you were there. I'm so sorry. What..what happened to your hands?" Wilbur reaches out, and Schlatt isn't sure how to breathe anymore. "They're burnt. What happened?" 

Schlatt stares at him. 

Wilbur didn't leave him behind.

Wilbur tried to find him. 

But Wilbur locked eyes with him all those years ago, and he left. 

Wilbur is lying.

Schlatt clenches his hands back, breathing in. "You're a fucking liar, you know that?" 

"What? Schlatt, I-"

"You're President of this place?" Schlatt scoffs, gesturing to the walls. L'manberg. That's what Quackity told him. That's what Quackity told him it was called. "I'm gonna fucking tear it all down," Schlatt promises him. "I'm gonna tear it to the goddamn ground. I'm going to kill you, Wilbur. I'm going to fucking murder you." Wilbur stares back at him, genuine hurt in his eyes. The fucking bitch probably didn't think Schlatt would remember. There's no way..there's..what the hell is wrong with him?

"I don't understand.."

"You're fucking lying!" He shouts, pointing his knife at Wilbur's throat. "That day, you and some fucking..someone named Techno. You were in a camp. You..there was fire and smoke and you saw me. You made eye contact with me. You freed everyone else but me. You fucking left me, Wilbur. You left me to die. You never gave a shit about me, did you? You used me as soon as I rescued you from the fire. What a fucking mistake," he snarls, spitting out the last word. "Your little country here? I'm going to burn it down to the ground. I'm gonna fucking kill you and whatever you have left. I spent five years!" Schlatt's voice breaks. "Five years," he whispers. "Waiting for you. I waited every single day. These fucking burns, they.." he swallows, staring down at the scars on his hands. "These were from the day you left me to die. And these," he throws his shirt over his head, turning to look away from Wilbur. "Every fucking day I got lashes. Didn't matter what I did, every fucking day. The only good day was when I got five instead of fifty." 

Wilbur is silent. 

Good. 

"I'm so sorry," he whispers. "I didn't see you. Schlatt, please, you have to believe me, I swear to god I didn't see you. If I had, I would have..I would have done everything to get you out. I would never leave you alone, Schlatt, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you. There was so much smoke, I couldn't see, I couldn't-"

"You fucking could," Schlatt wants to cry. He wants to cry so badly. "You saw me. You saw me, there was no way you couldn't have. I saw you, and as soon as you locked eyes, you fucking..you left. You left, you left! You did it on purpose!"

"I didn't!" Wilbur shouts back. He's crying. "I _love_ you," his voice cracks. "I love you, Schlatt. We were best friends. I thought you died. I thought.."

Schlatt scoffs. "Yeah, well, you thought wrong," he puts his shirt back on, biting down on his lip, drawing blood. "Go to hell, Wilbur."

He turns away, stalking towards the walls of L'manberg. He waited so long for Wilbur. He waited so long, he had so much hope. Schlatt clenches his fists. Not anymore. 

Not anymore.

* * *

"And as my first act as President," Schlatt grins, staring down at Wilbur. He's crying again. Of course he is. "Is to _revoke_ the citizenship of TommyInnit.." he pauses, watching as Wilbur's eyes go huge. His entire body stiffens, his hands shaking. He's shaking so hard. Good. "And Wilbur Soot." Schlatt finishes, watching as the terror in his eyes is replaced with a mix of rage and fear. Schlatt watches as Ponk and Punz shoot toward them, Eret pulling his sword from his belt. Quackity stands at his side, back straight as he stares ahead. Fundy shifts next to him, and Tubbo..

Tubbo's scared.

Schlatt can tell. Tommy isn't like Wilbur, he can tell that much. Tommy would never leave Tubbo behind. But Tubbo made his choice, and he gets to stick with it. 

Schlatt watches as Wilbur and Tommy disappear, watches as Quackity gets knocked to the ground. "They're _gone_ , those _bastards!_ " Eret shouts. Schlatt assumes that they had a splash potion, it'd be the only thing that would make sense. Wilbur isn't stupid. He's never been stupid. 

Well. The only mistake he made was leaving Schlatt alive that day. 

"It's fine, Eret," Schlatt smiles. "We'll find them. And when we do, we won't have any mercy for them. Long live the king."

 _Long live the king_.

* * *

"What, you some kind of bitch?" Schlatt scoffs, shoving Quackity back. " _I'm_ the one in charge here, dude. You're not the important one anymore." 

Quackity stares back at him, rage crossing his face. "What the _fuck_ , Schlatt? After all of this, you're going fucking power hungry? I'm your _vice!_ You're supposed to listen to the things I have to say, you.." he shakes his head. "I pooled my votes with yours! So you'd win! What the hell..why are you.." he pauses, clenching his hands into fists. "The fuck, man? I saved you. I saved you! That day in the fire, I saved your fucking life."

"That was the end of my life," Schlatt retorts. "The day that fire happened..that's when I died, Quackity. I lost everything that day."

"You had me!" Quackity shouts. "You had _me_. We lived together, we survived together! What the hell are you on about, Schlatt? After everything, you're..you're fucking kidding me. We're not tearing it down." 

Schlatt scoffs. "We are. If you don't get over here and fucking help, I'm going to get _rid_ of you, Quackity." His vice stares at him, fury in his eyes. He isn't intimidating at all. 

"You know what? Fuck you, man. I'm done." Quackity turns away, stalking off into the forest. Schlatt scoffs again, bringing his pick down onto the White House. Quackity'll be back. He always comes back.

* * *

Schlatt stares ahead of himself, looking at the burnt ground, the ashes falling from the sky. He leans back against a fallen part of Manberg, gripping his stomach. He's got more burn wounds, he thinks. Not like it's anything special. He closes his eyes for a second, quietly wishing he had died here. Even if he did die, he'd respawn. Schlatt doesn't want that. He wants to die. Ever since Wilbur betrayed him, ever since _Quackity_ betrayed him..ever since..ever..

He hears a faint humming, turns to look at it. He spots one of Tommy's discs, one of the fake ones. Why the hell is it playing by itself? Whatever. He slouches back against the brick, pain ebbing through his body. It isn't the worst pain he's ever felt. He's had worse, Schlatt has taken so much worse. He closes his eyes again, the familiar smell of smoke filling his lungs. Is this how it's destined to go? Every major event in his life, sparked by a flame? He should have never saved Wilbur that day in his village. He should have just let him die, should have just let him burn. But it's too late now, isn't it? Schlatt taps his fingers against the ground. It isn't like he can feel anything anymore, not after how badly his hands were scarred. 

Schlatt watched Wilbur get taken out of the battle, someone crashing into him, then they were gone. He's lucky, Wilbur is. If that man hadn't come to save him, Schlatt would have killed him. 

Was Wilbur lying?

Schlatt wishes he knew. He knows that he saw Wilbur, he knows that he screamed loud enough for Wilbur to hear him.

There's no way Wilbur didn't..there's no way. Surely. 

Wilbur left him to die again. 

Schlatt laughs, tilting his head back. Is he surprised? No..no, he isn't. It's almost poetic. 

Maybe this was always meant to happen. Maybe he should have died all those years ago, back in the first fire. Schlatt sighs, letting the pain fade away, his head filling with fog.

It's okay.

He'll come back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D we've still got one chapter to go 
> 
> and for anyone wondering..wilbur didn't see or hear schlatt :) schlatt's forgetting one very important thing, which is that he's a hybrid, and wilbur is not. schlatt's hearing and sight is much more advanced than wilbur's and even though he could see and hear wilbur, that doesn't mean that wilbur could see or hear him :D


	3. reconcile

Schlatt has never liked the winter. 

It's too cold, too annoying. It gives him headaches and it makes his ears hurt. It reminds him of the time he spent in the hunter's camp. It reminds him so much of Wilbur. Schlatt sighs, adjusting his cloak a little tighter, trudging alone in the snow. A lot of things remind him of Wilbur, actually. He thinks of him a lot more than he wants to. He wonders if he had been lying. Schlatt wishes he was able to tell, he wishes he wasn't as bad at reading Wilbur as he is. He used to be so good at figuring out what was the truth and what wasn't, and now..

Schlatt sighs. He's not entirely sure how long it's been since L'manberg - Manberg - got blown to shit. It's been at least a month, he thinks. He hasn't really seen a lot of anyone recently. Schlatt's fairly certain that everyone has just..disappeared. Gone somewhere else. He hasn't seen Sapnap or George in _ages_ , and the last time he saw everyone..was right before Wilbur's country blew up. Before Wilbur blew his own fucking country up. He went mad, he had to have gone fucking insane. When Schlatt looked at him..

He didn't see his best friend.

He saw a madman. 

He did that, didn't he? He turned Wilbur into a fucking terrorist, turned him into a paranoid, husk of a man. Schlatt did that. He did that to Wilbur, he did it on _purpose_. He took everything Wilbur had worked for and he burnt it to the ground right in front of him, and he laughed when he did it. 

Schlatt doesn't know why he doesn't feel proud. That was exactly what he wanted, right? To make Wilbur suffer, just like he did. He did that, he made Wilbur fucking _suffer_. He made him hurt, Schlatt knows it. And he hates himself for it.

Hate? 

Yeah, he decides. He hates himself for that. He shouldn't - Wilbur was a fucking liar, it was obvious that he saw him that day in the camp. There's no way Wilbur didn't see him, there's no fucking way. He closes his eyes for a second, faintly remembering a boy who used to be filled with light. Wilbur used to be so happy. He used to laugh and talk and sing all the time, he used to believe in love and magic. Schlatt used to believe in that, too. Then he got stabbed through the chest and dragged off to be beaten and hurt every day of his life from that point on. Magic is real, he knows that. There's no other way that that man from the sky managed to just show up and disappear so quickly. That had to have been magic. But the magic of _friendship_ , how that would always persevere..he used to believe that. But it isn't true, obviously. If it was, Wilbur would still be here. 

If it was, Wilbur would have rescued him from that camp. 

Schlatt sighs, standing still, letting the snow blow around him. His cloak doesn't keep him as warm as he'd like, but there isn't much he can do about it. He opens his eyes, staring at man in front of him, who definitely hadn't been there a few seconds back. Schlatt watches him draw his sword, pointing it to his throat. Yesterday, he would have fought against it. He would have tried to kill his assassin, but now..what's the point? He'll come back. No matter how fucking hard he tries, Schlatt can't die. He keeps respawning. The only way for him to die would be to go to a new world, but he doesn't know how to do that. There are no portals here, none to-

"Hi, Schlatt."

"Hi, Big Q." 

"You done being an asshole?"

"Yeah," he laughs, smiling at his friend. "I'm sorry."

Quackity smiles back at him, looking a lot younger than he has in a long time. "Are you sorry because you lost? Or are you sorry for the right reasons?" Schlatt ducks his head, holding in a sigh. 

"Both?" He offers, glancing back up at Quackity. "I'm sorry. About what I said and did. But I'm also sorry because I lost," he murmurs, brushing past Quackity. "Is there somewhere else we could talk? Cold isn't good for me." Quackity snorts, but he follows by his side, hand resting on his back. 

"Wilbur isn't..doing good. Sorry for betraying you."

"You're not."

"Not really," Quackity agrees. "You were being a douche."

"Yeah," Schlatt nods, silently wishing it wasn't true. "I know. I shouldn't have been like that, not to you. You're the only one I've got left, huh?" He smiles, tilting his head back as he walks. "Do you ever wish that your parents had let you die? Do you ever wish that you hadn't gone to the camp?" Quackity is quiet for a while, probably thinking. Schlatt isn't sure what he would want. Maybe death would have been better than living, maybe it would have made everyone's life so much easier. 

"No," Quackity shakes his head. "It was worth it."

Schlatt frowns. "It was?"

"Yeah," he nods. "It was." 

"I wouldn't have changed it, either," Schlatt murmurs. Thinking about it now..it would have been so much easier. Wilbur wouldn't have gone fucking mental, but..Quackity might not have been welcomed here. Schlatt doesn't know. He wishes he knew. "I am sorry. I fucked it all up, didn't I?"

"You did," Quackity confirms. "But I didn't stop you. It's my fault, too. I'm sorry about Wilbur."

"Me too." 

"Do you know what happened?" 

"No," Schlatt sighs. "I wish I did. He'll never want to see me again, but I guess I..maybe I'd like to see him, you know?" Quackity nods, quietly walking beside him. "No one would let me. I get that. I wouldn't let myself, either."

"His dad, Phil, wouldn't let you. He won't let Tommy or Techno see him, either. No one is allowed to, especially not you." 

Schlatt nods. "I know. But maybe one day."

"Maybe one day," Quackity agrees. "I really don't think he saw you, Schlatt. I barely could see you, and I was closer to you than he was. There was so much smoke," he sighs, shaking his head. "You gotta remember, man, we're humans. You're not. I don't know what you can do better than I can, but I don't think he was lying." Schlatt quietly considers that, scuffing his feet along the ground. 

"I wish I knew for sure."

"I know. Maybe we can figure it out after this is all.." he shrugs. "You know. Less fresh. Tommy and Tubbo are gone, I don't know where they went. I think Dream's with Techno, and I haven't seen Niki or Eret since L'manberg got blown to bits," Quackity sighs. "Where are you gonna head, man? There's nothing left for us here."

"For us?"

"Schlatt, listen," he sighs again. "I'm not going to just leave you here. I thought..I don't know. We've spent too much time with each other, you know? We survived that camp together. We're _friends_ , man. We're friends. I don't have anyone else, and neither do you." 

Schlatt smiles, rolling his eyes as he gives Quackity a light nudge. "Don't have to point it out, Big Q," he teases. "I'm sorry for calling you a bitch."

"I'm sorry for trying to kill you."

"It's alright," he snorts, feeling a lot warmer than he had a few minutes back. "Maybe we could make a portal. Go somewhere else. Where no one knows us," he smiles at the thought, though his head is swarmed by melancholy a second later. "I miss him, man."

"I know," Quackity sighs. "You'll be able to see him again. I don't know when, probably not soon. Maybe not even in the next year, but.." he shrugs. "We'll heal. He'll heal, too. We'll all be fine, y'know? I think he'll forgive you. He loves you, Schlatt."

"I love him, too." Schlatt wishes that wasn't true. He wishes he could hold onto his anger, wishes he could bring himself to hate Wilbur. But he can't. 

He never has been.

"Well," Quackity clears his throat. "What do you think is next, big man?" Schlatt shrugs, stopping to smile at his friend. 

"Not sure. Promise to stick with me?" Quackity grins at him, his hair flecked with snow. 

"Promise. Promise to not be a dick?" Schlatt laughs, rolling his eyes. 

"Promise."

This time, he means it.


End file.
